In residential or commercial environments, a number of devices may be part of an energy control network, for example a smart home or commercial energy network. The devices of an energy control network may be used to control energy consumption, such as but not limited to lighting sources and heating resources. Such load control devices may communicate with one another via a wired or wireless network. Devices such as a dimmer switch, a plug-in load control device (PID), a temperature control device, a contact-closure output (CCO) pack, a remote controller, an occupancy sensor, a temperature sensor, a digital ballast controller, a motorized window treatment, a battery-powered remote control, an occupancy sensor, and/or a daylight sensor, among other devices, may be part of an energy control network. Examples of additional devices that may be part of such energy control networks are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/234,758, filed Sep. 16, 2011, entitled LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING AN ENERGY SAVINGS MODE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of load control system (or an energy control network). As shown in FIG. 1, a user 112 may operate a lighting control device, such as a dimmer switch 106 for controlling a lighting load 132, and/or motorized window treatments 110 in room 130 using a remote control device 104 (e.g., a LUTRON® PICO® wireless remote control device). In addition, the dimmer switch 106 and/or the motorized window treatments 110 may be controlled automatically in response to an occupancy sensor 134. Also, the user 112 may use a temperature control device 102 to adjust a heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation (HVAC) system to control the temperature in the room 130. Similar systems have been developed to incorporate the use of other wireless devices (e.g., tablets and/or cellular phones) as remote load controls.
The temperature control device 102 may have a user interface that includes an “up” arrow and a “down” arrow to facilitate the adjustment of a temperature setpoint for the area that the temperature control device monitors and controls. The remote control device 104 may have a user interface that includes one or more buttons that can be used for functions like sending a “raise” and/or “lower” command to a shade control device, or perhaps an “on” or “off” (or assume a predetermined lighting “scene” command) to one or more lighting loads, like lighting load 132. The remote control device 104 may have more than two buttons (e.g. five buttons) that may be configured for effectuating five respective lighting scenes. Also, the dimmer switch 106 may have two buttons with which the user 112 can either raise or lower an intensity of the lighting load 132.
At the time of manufacture, a device that may become a part of an energy control network may be provided with a default (or initial) database that may correspond to the general functionality of the device. For example, the dimmer switch 106 at the time of manufacture may be provided with an initial dimmer switch database (or configuration) that may be downloaded to one or more, or all, dimmer switches at the time of manufacture. For example, downloading the initial device database to the dimmer switch 106 at the time of manufacture may involve establishing a physical electronic connection to the dimmer switch at some point in the process of manufacturing the dimmer switch 106. The initial device database can be downloaded to the dimmer switch 106, and at the time manufacturing is complete the dimmer switch 106 can be shipped to an end user, retail distributor, and/or installation contractor, for example.
When selected by an end user and/or installation contractor, a load control device may require that its initial database be replaced with a database specific to the particular device's actual functions and/or configuration. For example, dimmer switch 106 may require the specific device configuration that it is a two-button dimmer switch. Also by way of example, dimmer switch 106 may have illuminated push buttons (e.g. backlit) or may have other indicator lights (not shown). The specific device database downloaded to dimmer switch at the time it is installed (or replaced) may provide the dimmer switch 106 with the configuration corresponding to operation with the two backlit buttons and/or other indicator lights—where the initial database provided to the dimmer switch 106 at the time of manufacture may not provide such a specific corresponding configuration. The specific device database may be downloaded to the dimmer switch 106 via a physical electronic connection, or perhaps via a special sequence of inputs made through the buttons of the dimmer switch 106, which may be both cumbersome and time consuming. Also, the load control device may be added to a wireless communication network so that the specific device database may be provided via a protocol of the wireless communication network (e.g., the Wi-Fi protocol or the Clear Connect™ protocol). Adding the device to such a wireless communication network may also be both cumbersome and time consuming.
Also at the time a load control device is put into a specific application by an end user and/or contractor, a first load control device may be provided with information regarding the other load control devices with which the first load control device may wirelessly communicate. For example, the first load control device may communicate with the other load control devices on an energy control communications network (e.g. a Wi-Fi based network or a wireless proprietary protocol network). Such energy control communications network information (e.g. network addresses of devices to monitor and/or control) may be downloaded to the dimmer switch 106 via a physical electronic connection, or perhaps via a special sequence of inputs made through the buttons of the dimmer switch 106 (which again may be both cumbersome and time consuming). Also, the load control device may be added to a wireless communication network so that the energy control communications network information may be provided via a protocol of the wireless communication network (e.g., the Wi-Fi protocol or the Clear Connect™ protocol). And adding the device to such a wireless communication network may also be both cumbersome and time consuming.
After providing the load control device with its specific device database and also after providing the load control device with the information required to communicate with other load control devices, the user interface of the load control device may be used to bring about the user-desired effects that the load control device has been specifically configured to provide. For example, a user can use the buttons of the dimmer switch 106 to increase or decrease the intensity of one or more lighting loads connected to the dimmer switch 106. However, the user is limited to the specific functionality provided by the particular configuration of the dimmer switch's 106 user interface. In other words, the user is limited to the functions provided by the two buttons on the dimmer switch 106, where the dimmer switch 106 may be specifically configured for more functionality than can be accessed by the two button user interface.
Should a load control device fail or become inoperative to perform its configured functions, then the inoperative device may require physical replacement. At the time the load control device is replaced, an end user and/or contractor may wish to provide the replaced load control device with the specific device database that was provided to the previous (now inoperative) load control device. To accomplish this, the end user and/or contractor may use the same techniques as were used to provide the previous load control device with its specific device database and load control network information. For example, that information may be downloaded to a replacement load control device via a physical electronic connection, or perhaps via a special sequence of inputs made through the user interface of the replacement load control device. Also, the replacement load control device may be added to a wireless communication network so that the specific device database may be provided via a protocol of the wireless communication network (e.g., the Wi-Fi protocol or the Clear Connect™ protocol). As mentioned previously, adding the device to such a wireless communication network may also be both cumbersome and time consuming.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging wireless data transfer protocol. Little network or administrative configuration may be needed to establish NFC protocol based wireless communication. And NFC may facilitate the wireless transfer of data at low data rates and within a relatively limited geographic range. It may be useful to utilize NFC for the purposes of managing the databases of load control devices and/or exploiting the configurable flexibility of load control device user interfaces.